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catchingup

Let Mother-in-laws imagine that colon problems are daughter-in-laws ;)as I dont know where to place this topic.They say 50%-60% of people over the age of 60 have Irritable bowel syndrome or pollops on their colon. At age 80 it is more like 100%.I was having these attacks and had to have a colonoscopy and they have found pollops on my colon.Anyone else with this problem who have experianced the do's and dont's of eating.

Ouch, sorry you're going through this, Catchingup. I've not had a diagnosis (lucky me, clean colonoscopy) but I did go off some foods that were irritating me. Dietary change isn't fun at first but it is doable. More stores and restaurants now are aware which makes it easier. Good luck!

Respect ... is appreciation of the separateness of the other person, of the ways in which he or she is unique. -- Annie Gottlieb

holliberri

I don't know if there is a difference, but if there's not, she did make a number of changes to her diet that have helped tremendously:

She went gluten free: very difficult to do, but the selections to choose from have gotten better. She cut out high fructose corn syrup, aspertame, MSG and she limits her dairy. Oh, xylitol was another thing she cut out.

It's been much better, but she does miss those gluten foods from time to time. It doesn't mean your problem is the same as hers.

She also trys to eliminate unnecessary stress (impossible feat!). She found that stress made her IBS terrible; so she tries very hard not to get worked up over things.

I was diagnosed many years ago with ulcerative colitis , on investigation they found polyps . these were removed and I hadcheck ups every year for about five years .Colitis can be caused by stress also certain food can irritate the bowel .I got rid of the colitis by food combining .A Dr. Hay discovered by not mixing proteins and carbohydrates together alleviatedsymptoms of Crohns and Colitis . this simply means no potatoes with meat , no meat on a sandwich , this sort of thing .There are books to follow the Hay diet .IBS is totally different and I think too much roughage can exacerbate this problem .there is also diverticulitis , which is different again .Until they pinpoint the exact problem its hard to know which route to take .First thing is to have the polyps removed , then they will give you a diagnosis .I found the worst bit of the whole thing was having to spring clean your insides !! good Luck ......

catchingup

I am incorrect in calling them pollops.It is actually Diverticulosis . The ibs is normally caused by stress and I started having these attacks about 2 years ago once every 3 months.I had an attack in January that never seemed to correct itself completely. I am going overseas at the end of May and did not want this hanging over me so went for the test.Thank goodness it was not anything more serious.I think the pollops are the ones that can turn and have to be watched.Diverticulosis is a bit differant.Nevertheless, I was worried after 5 people I know died of stomach related cancer last year.What do they put in our food?

Polyps are small pieces of skin similar to a wart that are attached to the wall of the bowel .These should either be watched , or in this country are removed .Diverticulitis are pouches or pockets within the wall of the bowel . If the food is not kept moving , these pockets can becomeinfected resulting in painful episodes .Eating a high fibre diet with this problem encourages the food to keep moving , and the roughness cleans the walls or pockets of the bowel .the reason I know about this lovely subject (LOL) is because I suffered hard and long episodes of tests !Diverticulitis is easily managed with the correct diet , your doctor should have diet sheets on the correct food to eat .At least you did the right thing in having the tests done .Hope this clears up soon , hope you like Bran .....porridge is very good (oats ) , here in Scotland , we have it for breakfast .Have a great trip ....

My middle sister died of colon cancer and I have to go thru colonoscopies on a schedules basis. Every time I do, they find tubular melanoma. They are the ones that grow into cancer unless they are removed.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. Dalai Lama

catchingup

Well Luise you certainly have done pretty good up to now.My husband has the same condition that was diagnosed a few years ago yet he has eaten cereal for as long as I have known him.Weetbix which is a pretty good roughage. I dont like weetbix and cant stomach the little balls in oats.Nevertheless I will have to make sure I look after this. Apparently exercise is very important.

My grandmother has diverticulitis and it is all about finding out what foods "trigger" your symptoms (lancaster lady wrote a good descriotion of the condition). Anywya, my gma can eat things with "skins" or sees (think of the outside of a strawberry or a piece of corn as these "husks" get caught in the po9uches. Tomatoes and eggplant also are avoided but from our famil'es understanding each case is different.

I DO know that there is a medication that my grama takes (I will try to fnid out what) during "flare-ups" to calm the bowel but her episodes can last 2 weeks or better. Thankfully once she figured out the trigger foods, their frequency decreased greatly.

HiMy husband has had Crohns for many years and has recently also been diagnosed with celiac . Both are very dependent on his diet. One positive note is that during a flareup, his diet usually changes to yogurt, bananas, rice and staying away from most grain associated foods as they tend to make your intestines work harder to process. Although in your case it is advised to eat more fiber, the yogurt and bananas might help. You might try that during the harder days. As other posters have said the treatment for IBS and pollops is in exact contrast so the key will be to find a happy medium that your body will accept. Good luck.